The CIES list shows how much a club should pay to register a player in the five major European leagues and highlights the places occupied by celebrities such as Mbappé, Rashford, Messi and Ronaldo
With a new year and the January transfer window open, CIES football observatory published its latest list of transfer values.
List of CIES shows how much a club should pay to register a player in the five major European leagues, based on advanced algorithms dictated by key factors such as the age of the player, the duration of his contract, the financial situation of his club, any previous transfers, fees, etc.
The list aims to provide a stable approximation in a market that is the most unstable, elite football is currently surrounded by uncertainty, along with the rest of the world, by the pandemic COVID-19.
As with any formula used to create a ranking, there are some results that can attract attention and raise questions, but when the key factors are considered, the list generally makes sense.
After covering the Top 100, we share the most interesting moves:
Rashford is the most valuable player in the world
According to the CIES Football Observatory algorithm, Marcus Rashford is estimated to be the most valuable player in world football with a transfer value of 165 million euros (204 million dollars). With 14 goals in 25 games this season (including a Champions League hat-trick against RB Leipzig) and a three-year contract with Manchester United, the 23-year-old striker tops the list ahead of Borussia’s Erling Haaland Dortmund (second with a value of 152 million euros). However, it is worth noting that the alleged value of Rashford is significantly lower than that of the player who occupied the previous place in the list, published in June 2020 …
Mbappé loses first place
Kylian Mbappé occupied the last CIES position with an estimated transfer value of 259.2 million euros. In fact, it was noticed that the value of the 22-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star was above the world record transfer fee set by his teammate Neymar (222 million euros). However, with only 18 months left in his contract with the Parisian giants, Mbappé’s estimated value fell to 149.4 million euros, bringing him to fifth place.
Haaland with the highest growth
Haaland is the biggest rising star in the Top 20. Prolific striker Borussia Dortmund jumped from 15th (EUR 107.3 million) to second (EUR 152 million) in six months. It is a phenomenal increase in the ranking for the 20-year-old, who boasts an average of one goal per game since arriving in Dortmund a year ago (33 goals in 33 matches).
Alexander-Arnold remains the dominant defender
Along with Rashford and Haaland on the podium, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold remains the most expensive defender in the world (151.6 million euros) ahead of Bayern Munich center-back Alphonso Davies (139 million euros) and central defender. from Manchester City, Rúben Dias (127 million euros). Dias was not even in the Top 100 the last time the CIES results were published, just six months ago, but he has been impressive since leaving Benfica for 68 million euros in September.
Rashford is not the only United player to have performed well on the last CIES list, and Bruno Fernandes is also in the top five, with an estimated value of 151.1 million euros. The Portuguese international has grown by 12 places since CIES published its last ranking in June, when it ranked 17th on the list with a value of 104.9 million euros. Fernandes is the most valuable midfielder in the world, with Kai Havertz (136 million euros) in 10th place representing his closest competition. However, the fact that CIES has Havertz and his Chelsea teammate Timo Werner (11th place, 135.1 million euros) valued over Mohamed Salah of Liverpool (12th place, 134 million euros) shows that the formula can give strange results.
A bright spot in a rather sad season for Arsenal was the young Bukayo Saka. The 19-year-old English international is the most expensive teenage player in the world with an estimated value of 116.2 million euros, which places him in 15th place on the general list of CIES. Davies and Haaland were among the top teen idols the last time the data was released, but both players turned 20.
In June, Fernandes (EUR 104.9 million) is estimated to have twice the transfer value of Paul Pogba (EUR 50.6 million). In 2021, the gap between the two United midfielders became a huge gap, with Pogba coming out of the Top 100. Surprisingly, when it comes to United midfielder Scott McTominay is now rated over Pogba, with the Scottish international in 84th place with a value of 59 million.
Pogba is not the only superstar to come out of the Top 100, because, incredible as it may seem, Cristiano Ronaldo has suffered a similar fate. Despite excellent performances at club level with Juventus (including 18 goals in 15 matches this season), Ronaldo was ranked 131st in the list of CIES shares with a transfer value of only 47 million euros. This is largely due to his age (35) and the relatively short duration of his contract with Juve, which expires in the summer of 2022.
Messi manages to slip into the list
Lionel Messi also entered the standings when he entered the last six months of his contract with Barcelona. As rumors of his imminent departure from Barça amplify, the 33-year-old Argentine international is currently worth 54 million euros, which puts him in 97th place. In a similar situation, Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski, recently the winner of the FIFA award for best male player, is ranked 55th with a value of 72.1 million euros.
Ederson still number 1 of numbers 1
As in June, Manchester City’s Ederson Moraes remains the most expensive goalkeeper in world football (79.6 million euros), with Marc-Andre ter Stegen (70 million euros) from Barcelona and Alisson Becker from Liverpool (65 years old), 7 euros) as his closest rivals.
Reyna takes Pulisic’s place as the US contingent grows.
Six months ago, Christian Pulisic was the only American on the list. Now, Giovanni Reyna and Weston McKennie join him among the 100 most valuable players. Reyna, valued at 78.9 million euros (97.4 million dollars), is on the 46th place on the list, the same spot that Pulisic had last time, not bad for an 18-year-old. The accident of Chelsea striker Pulisic dropped him on the list (69.8 million euros), the midfielder McKennie climbed to the Top 100 (54.2 million euros) after his impressive loan period at Juventus.